Repurposing of the antihistamine chlorcyclizine and related compounds for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection—S He et al.—Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief

Source:  Sci Transl Med. 2015 Apr 8;7(282):282ra49. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3010286

Results and Conclusions
The article discussed how a common and cheap generic antihistamine drug—chlorcylclizine HCL—could be used to treat hepatitis C.  In cell studies it was found that cholorcyclizine had antiviral effects against the hepatitis C virus.  The antiviral effect was also synergistic with other hepatitis C drugs including telaprevir, boceprevir, sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and cyclosporine and importantly without any toxic effect to cells.    

The Bottom Line
There have been many medications that have been developed to treat certain conditions, some of their properties, and even some of the side effects help with other conditions.  An example would be mirtazapine.  It is approved to treat major depressive disorder, but one of the side effects is sleepiness.  It was found that when taken in small doses in the evening that it helped to treat insomnia.  Another example is propranolol that is approved to treat high blood pressure.  Taken at a lower dose, off-label, it reduced anxiety in people who suffer from stage fright and other anxieties such as fear of public speaking.

Editorial Comment
It is way too early to tell if chlorcyclizine will be an effective therapy to treat hepatitis C. Chlorcylclizine with and without ribavirin is currently in a phase 1 clinical trial to treat hepatitis C. There is more information available about chlorcyclizine’s clinical trial information at www.clinicaltrial.gov. Type in “chlorcylclizine” or the trial identifier NCT02118012

It is being conducted by the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

World Hepatitis Summit harnesses global momentum to eliminate viral hepatitis

2 SEPTEMBER 2015 ¦ GLASGOW - Participants at the first-ever World Hepatitis Summit will urge countries to develop national programmes that can ultimately eliminate viral hepatitis as a problem of public health concern.

“We know how to prevent viral hepatitis, we have a safe and effective vaccine for hepatitis B, and we now have medicines that can cure people with hepatitis C and control hepatitis B infection,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the WHO’s Global Hepatitis Programme. “Yet access to diagnosis and treatment is still lacking or inaccessible in many parts of the world. This summit is a wake-up call to build momentum to prevent, diagnose, treat - and eventually eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem.”

Around 400 million people are currently living with viral hepatitis, and the disease claims an estimated 1.45 million lives each year, making it one of the world’s leading causes of death. Hepatitis B and C together cause approximately 80% of all liver cancer deaths, yet most people living with chronic viral hepatitis are unaware of their infection.

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Attention: If you know of people who are suing or if you are suing, please contact me at alanfranciscus@hcvadvocate.org

There are many insurance companies that are denying coverage of HCV medications to only the sickest of patients. I am working on a brief article describing why people are filing lawsuits against these insurance companies. It will be a brief overview, and I will not be using names. I am looking for quotes from people who are suing or are thinking of suing insurance companies. For example, one person told me that to be turned down for the HCV medications wasn’t medically ethical or morally just and from a monetary standpoint they were angry because they had been paying their medical premiums their entire life. Now when they needed their insurance, the company bailed on them.

Huntington needle exchange program set to launch

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s first-of-its-kind syringe exchange program will launch Wednesday in Huntington and Cabell County.

“The community has recognized a need and demand of this service for some time and we’re just excited to be able to offer it,” said Michael Kilkenny, the physician director for the Cabell-Huntington Health Department.

The pilot project will involve education and treatment resources to make clean needles more readily available. There will also be efforts to stop the spread of infectious diseases, like hepatitis B and hepatitis C, by giving addicts points of contact within the health department.

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Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Booklet —Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief

Recently I had to fill a prescription drug for my Dog—Buddy.  I had the prescription filled at a well-known national drug store chain.  A 30-day supply cost me $52.00 for a generic drug!  He needed two prescriptions so after I had that one filled I called around to see if I could find a cheaper medicine.  BAM—not only did I find a cheaper generic prescription, but it was only $9.00 for a 30-day supply.  The generic company is a well-recognized and respected generic manufacturer.  How could the same drug cost so much more from one location in the same city?  I guess this can happen when you are dealing with prescriptions, insurance coverage, and pharmacies.   I am now in the process of checking to see if my generic medicines would be cheaper at the other pharmacy that my insurance co-pays.  As the saying goes – it pays to shop around!

Coincidently, today I received a booklet in the mail from Needymeds.org titled “Consumer Reports Best Drugs for Less.”  This little book is chock full of information about saving people money on drugs, gives examples of how much money you can save, provides information on the best choices on different medications, what drugs are safe split in half (and medications that should not be broken in half), generic drugs, reading drug labels, understanding drugstore services and much more health advice.

The booklet is free!  It can be viewed and downloaded in English and Spanish at CRBestbuydrugs.org

New hep C campaign to target boomers, IV drug users

A new state-run campaign will heavily push screening for hepatitis C among baby boomers and intravenous drug users.

Set to launch in mid-October, the Delaware Division of Public Health program aims to reach out to health care providers, especially primary care doctors and substance abuse clinicians, to educate them on whom to screen and how the disease is transmitted.

A story in The News Journal this month detailed how the state’s wave of heroin addiction is driving an explosion of hepatitis C cases among intravenous drug users and the barriers they face to get expensive medication.

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More than 200,000 Brits chronically infected with HCV

Around 214,000 individuals are chronically infected with hepatitis C (HCV) in the UK, national estimates from Public Health England (PHE) suggest.

Injecting drug use continues to be the most important risk factor for HCV infection in the UK with half of people who inject drugs (PWID) are thought to have been infected in England and Wales; levels are lower in Northern Ireland (23%) and higher in Scotland (57%).

However, across the UK, more individuals are being tested and diagnosed and  “over the last five years particular improvements have been seen in primary care where surveillance indicates that testing has risen by 21%, 46% and 53% in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively”, PHE’s new report Hepatitis C in the UK states.

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